Hairpin
by Rhombea
Summary: As the tradition requires, Chaima was supposed to give the hairpin to the man she'd marry. While she never believed in the day to come, for her to really follow her mother's words, she couldn't have foreseen one little accident that would turn her life around in the little time they spent together. (Ren Kouen X OC)
1. Chapter I

Grey and dull was the sky above the city. Not like it lessened the masses of people flocking into the port, gathering around the various stands of the merchants, inspecting their goods with sometimes more, sometimes less interest than the others. A trading country like Meirao never slept, that much was sure. Even if this was one of the dreaded ports of the Kou Empire, the people still swarmed to it for its jewel market and the fine fabrics of the rich. There were imported goods from all around the world and even some, which were highly frowned upon, were still sold high on the market.

Sure, this land has its good and bad traits, which one doesn't? As part of the Kou Empire and being highly active in trade, it has had its fair share of slave trading, pirates, and prostitution. Then again - at least in the broad daylight - it was clean and beautifully structured, drawing in the customers and rich people who wanted to make the most out of their money's worth. Every day there were hundreds of people coming in through the sea and land way, keeping the atmosphere up and sociable. And in between them, there was Chaima.

"That's a bit too much" she said, staring at the merchant. It marked the end of the conversation for her, as she gently squeezed Naaji's hand, signalling that they'd move on. The youngest son of the family she worked for nodded quietly, giving her a questioning look. "No shoes?" he asked, cautiously biting his thumb while fixating his nanny with his eyes. "Not today," she explained. O _nly if they were cheaper_ , she thought as she let her grocery basket rest in the crook of her elbow.

Chaima - a tall, pale woman with origins from Balbadd - was no stranger to the people here. Known for her natural appearance, though never considered as a beauty as she didn't care enough, people of the same social standing envied her for her position, having gotten quite lucky with her employers. It gave her an unofficial fame among the population, as the merchants she worked for were the ones at the top of the ranks with their products. And yet, Chaima was so different, stinted both with her money and her smiles. A hard-working woman, but not someone people liked talking to.

There's always a fresh breeze going through the streets, the sea giving the air a slightly salty taste to it. Chaima enjoyed the tender humidity, though she didn't appreciate the wind messing up her ash blonde hair, which she had previously put up in a bun. Now there were stray strands poking out on the sides of her head, which she quickly tucked behind her ears and sighed.

The two of them strolled through the many stands, coming to a halt every now and then to see the different wares on display. Chaima had the boy point out things he liked, already making mental notes for his birthday which was soon to be due. She sighed inwardly, knowing very well, who would be in charge of buying all the presents, groceries, decorations and more. Sending invitations, organizing a party, and then serving drinks, only the thought of it made her sigh already. Her mind only slipped for a moment, as another thought crossed - What kind of theme should she arrange the party to be? - in which Naaji suddenly slipped out of her grasp, turned and stormed off.

Not being able to snatch back to reality fast enough, Chaima couldn't turn around in time, as the little shadow of the child disappeared in the masses. She left the basket with the merchant and pursued him immediately, apologizing profusely for bumping into the people in the streets, as she yelled Naaji's name again and again. It was the first time the boy ever did something like this and it made her nervous. The children of the family were holy to them and ever since she started working there she had been in charge of taking care of the youngest ones. And yet, here she was, lost in the crowd - and an even bigger problem was just about to reveal itself.

"Naaji!", she shouted once more, feeling a sharp pain as a tall man rammed his elbow into her back, making her tumble forward from the force. Chaima turned around - half of her ready to apologize and half of her in pain - though the man didn't even acknowledge her presence, let alone what he did. All she could hear were the loud and commanding voices of authorities, shouting to move out of the way. Their voices were accompanied by the sound of metal armor in movement and horses which pulled a carriage over the stony path, bringing a feeling of helplessness over the maid, as she still couldn't make out her fosterling.

Desperately pushing through the masses, Chaima got rocked back and forth ungently between the people, some of them rudely commenting at her behavior and giving her dirty looks. Suddenly the admiring cries stopped and turned into a variety of shocked gasps. The sound of the carriage coming to a halt and the horses neighing made Chaima stretch herself, trying to see what was going on. She felt a small rush of relief when she could finally make out Naaji, but the sight turned bitter very fast when she noticed the situation he was in.

Huddling on the floor, the little boy found himself surrounded by soldiers, the gravure on their armor marking them as imperial guards. Even though their weapons were drawn, they didn't make the impression to be very cautious around the child. Though, looking even grimmer than the soldiers under their helmets, was the man standing in front of Naaji, his expression cold, his clothes gracefully adorned and bright in color. His face was hidden behind a splendid fan and the yellow of his garment seemed to sparkle in the few sun rays which passed through the clouds. From what Chaima knew about fabrics this man must have been nobility to be able to wear something like this. Snapping back to the urgency of the situation, she quickly readied her elbows again to push through the crowd, squeezing through it in a rough manner and reaching the end just in time to hear the man speak.

"What insolence, a child stopping the carriage of His Majesty. Do you even know what you have done, you brat?", the man spoke, shutting and pointing his fancy fan at the young boy, who by now trembled and teared up in his position, scared about what was going on.

Chaima found herself stopped by a wall of guards who blocked the citizens from barging into the way and they certainly weren't pleased by her curves pressing through them. Their hands outstretched, as Chaima spoke up, directing her words at the man in the yellow garment. She stumbled over her feet and fell to the ground, feeling the burn on her skin from the stone rubbing against it, right before crying out, "Wait! Please, wait!"

Barely, she managed to get to Naaji, whose expression turned relieved at her sight - his big green eyes looking at her widely - before she kneeled down, taking him behind her in a protective manner. "He didn't…", the words got stuck in her throat, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, as she bowed down deeply, her forehead barely touching the ground. "He didn't do that on purpose, he was just lost!" she tried to explain.

Even so, her words fell on deaf ears. The man's mimic growing darker as he gave her a look over. He could certainly make her out as a servant, the little vine-adornments on her blue vest being impressive enough to show how she was situated in life. However, the combination of a white shirt, a vest, and a black skirt just wasn't enough to indicate wealthiness for him to show her mercy.

"And now we have the careless woman, who couldn't take care of that frivolous child. Do you have any excuses?"

She swallowed hard, knowing very well that this question did not serve any purpose other than to embarrass her in front of the crowd. "N-No, Sir. I am sorry, I should have been more careful." There was a short tsk coming from him, indicating that her words were not to his liking. The corners of his mouth dropped and his gaze became even more intense. She felt it going through her bones and flesh as he labeled her as incompetent and thus formed his next words accordingly.

"Fine then." The fan swung open, gracefully hiding his face behind the feathers again - not that she had the time looking anyways. "Then I will take it that you will be the one to receive punishment for his action?"

There was no way she could get out of this. A slight panic rushed through her body, causing small pearls of sweat to form on her lowered forehead. That was until she felt Naaji's tiny hands scaredly taking a hold of her clothes, the little one still trembling. Her left arm reached behind herself, giving him a tender, calming pat, making sure he was alright. It took the worry from her. Even if she was to get punished now, as long as he was safe, she'd be okay. That's what she believed.

"So, what will it be?" the man asked, impatience in his voice, as he smirked behind his fan, already coming up with a fitting punishment for her.

"I'll take his-!"

Chaima's words were harshly cut off by a loud crash, wood banging against more wood, as the crowd fell back into surprised gasps and squeals, a sound of amazement swinging in it. The motion of the man standing before her, as he turned around, made her look up for a split second. But right in that moment, a ray of sun blinded her, hiding the happenings before her. "Y-Your Majesty!" the man stuttered, surprised by what he saw. Chaima felt another cold rush run down her back at the spoken words. She returned to her lowered position, as changing it was no option, now that an even more important person seemed to have appeared. Only the thought about the consequences that a change would bring made her sweat profusely.

"What's the hold-up, Ka Koubun?" a deeper, more gruff sounding voice rang out, making the man who previously had talked come to his own senses abruptly and making him bow too, before straightening his back again and explaining the situation. "W-Well, this child here jumped right before the carriage and we had to stop. And this woman here is responsible for it!"

Even though Chaima couldn't see his movements, she just knew he was pointing his finger at her. If this wasn't such a serious situation, she would have rolled her eyes but she just remained still, waiting to be asked before speaking or moving, just like she was taught to do. The atmosphere had yet again made a full turn, no one was talking, even if the crowd was watching in awe at the appearance of a royal person. It was an incredibly uncomfortable moment for Chaima, who was still stuck in her lowered position, unsure if this was going to be better or worse for her from this point onward.

Certainly, she wasn't able to see what was going on, as it felt like an eternity of silence washed over all of them. She noticed herself holding her breath at the tension and was caught off-guard by the time someone spoke up again, making her flinch. "I still don't see why we stopped," the man who joined the scene spoke, his voice coming from much nearer than before and having a certain high-class vibe to it. She hadn't noticed him coming closer, but now that she had heard him, she could also feel the piercing gaze she got from him, his red orbs looking her up and down before moving over to Naaji for a second, the child grasping on tightly to his nanny. For another moment he must have been trying to piece the two of them together, Naaji certainly giving off a higher-ranked appearance than she did, but as the conversation continued, he seemed unbothered by the facts.

"W-Well, as Your Highness may have noticed, I was just about to give them their proper punishment," the subordinated man spoke, bowing respectfully. Instantly a small snort was to be heard, followed once more by silence before the royal voice rose up again. "If you would have just made them take their leave it wouldn't have taken so long." Chaima heard pebbles squeaking against the stone path beneath his feet, as the prince turned around, directing his next words at her, "Woman."

There was a somewhat strange break in his sentence, long enough to make her think about saying something or getting up, but too short to actually do it, before he continued, "Take your child and be on your way. Make sure this will not happen again." The sound of his footsteps when they started to distance themselves again, made her raise her body slightly while her view remained at the ground. Out of courtesy, Chaima thought about raising her voice once more, giving him a quick, "Yes, Sir. Thank you very much, Your Highness!"

When Chaima finally lifted her gaze from the ground, she only saw a long, black cape moving inside the carriage again. There was not enough time for her to stare back at the man draped in yellow before her, as she quickly picked up Naaji and hurried to the masses, the guards letting her pass. This way she avoided his harsh, disapproving eyes, but not the clicking of his tongue, right before she left, making her sigh.

It was not pleasant, having the people stare at her this much. Though at least they opened up a path for her to move through. Chaima hurried back to the merchant from before to get her basket, while the march behind her continued on its way. She didn't know if she ever felt this eager to go home as she was in that moment, while at the same time was very much afraid to do so, not wanting to know what her employers would say when they would hear about the commotion she caused that day. And yet, Chaima reminded herself of her duties, as she quickly made her way up the streets, the boy on her right hip, the basket in the other arm.

As the two of them reached the short forest path, Chaima bent over, to set the little one down. But instead, she felt his tiny arms wrapping around her neck when he softly whimpered, "I am sorry. I didn't want to make you feel bad…"

His words sent a small smile on her face. She set down the basket and patted the boy's back reassuringly, rubbing over the dark blue clothes to give him the warm feeling he needed. Holding him in her arms, she gave him time, figuring it must be the shock from before that was bursting out now before she picked up her groceries again and continued walking with him in her arms.

Chaima really liked the forest path to the mansion. There were birds singing their songs in the high crowns of the trees and every now and then a small rabbit would scurry through the thicket. The sun finally made its breakthrough, sending warming graces of light against her skin too, as if nature itself was trying to lift her mood. She took a deep breath, feeling how the youngster sank into her. Apparently, after all the trouble, he must have felt exhausted, dozing off on her shoulder, while holding on to her tightly.

Somehow, even with his childlike behavior, Naajir always knew what was going on and even though he was raised differently, he still had the decency to apologize to her. No matter what she went through before in her life, he gave her a little bit of the hope she had long lost in other humans. The two of them made their way to the estate, Chaima humming softly, as she appreciated her surroundings. When the two finally reached the entrance to the mansion, the gates were wide open, surprising her, considering that they'd normally be closed and guarded.

All blood drained from her face when her eyes laid upon the extravagant carriage that was parked at the end of the stone pathway leading up to the front door, where two indifferent looking soldiers guarding the entrance to the mansion. A slight fear trickled through her, as she identified them as royal guards and not the ones that belonged to the family. Suddenly the guards eyes met with hers. Chaima quickly shielded her face with the basket, bowing slightly and rushing to the side entrance where no one would see her so quickly. If this really was what she feared it was, then it would get her into trouble for sure if anyone were to notice her right away.

She brought the boy back to his room, her co-maid already waiting for their return, murmuring at Chaima as she took the young child over, "You've taken way too long, the head maid is already upset with you. You better hurry."

Chaima gave her an apologetic look, nodding lightly, before leaving the two of them behind - not without smiling at Naaji once more - and walking down the servant hallway to the kitchen.

There were many thoughts in her head. The first one being that she really had to deliver the groceries she was sent to pick up, as dinner needed to be prepared. Right after that, she thought about what she would tell the head maid about her delay. Chaima could only sigh, the sight of the carriage remaining in her head, as she feared being faced with her previous encounter too. This day didn't seem to want her to rest any minute.

"Where is she?!" a deep, loud voice ran through the hallway. Presumably, it was the one of the chef. She was done for, one way or another, that's what she was sure about. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back as she approached the entrance to the kitchen. Something was about to change in her life, that much was already obvious to her. Even though she couldn't make out what was awaiting her just yet, the very least she could do was to hold her head up high and approach it with the last bit of courage she still had. When she opened the door carefully, all the heads present turned to her, their looks a mix of relief and displeasure.

 _Oh mother_ , Chaima thought, _now I've really done it._


	2. Chapter II

"You're back."

Chaima wasn't sure if the smile on the little old lady was scaring or reassuring her. The head maid sat at the small wooden table, drinking tea, and facing the door, so she was the first one to see Chaima entering the room. "I'm sorry…" Chaima mumbled, lowering her gaze so as to not look at anyone in the room, fearing their reactions. No matter how much of a mother the head maid was to her, the strictness she possessed always left Chaima bitter only thinking about it.

"Finally, the young lady honors us with her presence," the cook mocked her, snatching the basket with groceries from Chaima as soon as she had conquered the few steps down into the kitchen area. Vian was an unpleasant person to work with. While he had a huge knowledge of food and how to cook it, he had the attitude of 2 monkeys fighting over a banana. There was no day that she had spent in this estate, where she had seen him smile at anyone besides the bottle of scotch he kept near the oven.

Turning towards the head maid and her husband again, Chaima bowed politely, trying to come up with a lie about why she had taken so long in the city. Even though she felt uncomfortable doing this - as it reminded her of the events just an hour earlier - she kept her back crooked until she found the right words to say. "I am really sorry. We got caught up in a parade and weren't able to get out of it," Chaima explained, leaving out the 'why' they got so invested in the first place.

"Ah yes, I am sure our guests would make quite an extravagant entrance," the old lady spoke, with a raspy laugh at the thought. "The young prince reminds me of you, Alinar. When you were younger at least." At the calling of his name, Alinar the gardner lifted his head from his bowl of soup, looking at his wife tenderly. By now, she had lifted herself again, listening to her superiors and watching them interact. "He's such a stud." Her words were followed by a husky laugh, as she picked up a napkin and gently cleaned her husband's mouth. "Not that I'd change you for anyone, my dear."

With that, Alinar returned to slowly spooning his soup, slurping it off the metal silverware. Again, Hama turned towards her underling, the old eyes fixating her. "I heard there was a little accident during the procession. Did you see any of it?" Chaima felt how the blood drained from every fiber of her being, flooding her stomach with the feeling of panic. Nervously, she clutched her hands in front of her hips, rubbing the palms against each other. She wasn't a very good liar and Chaima believed that the head maid had long seen her through.

"Well…" she muttered, lowering her gaze against the floor again. Before she could start up with any kind of explanation, Hama got the jump on her, as her elderly voice arose again, "I suppose you have your reason for being so late." The statement caught Chaima off-guard, so she simply nodded, looking up at the two seated at the table again. Hama took a long sip of her teacup, before pointing her index finger at Chaima. "You need to be more careful about your appearance, Chaima."

Confused, Chaima picked at her skirt, lifting it a little to see huge, oval stains on the black fabric. They were exactly at the place where her legs had been, when she was bowing before, the stone path having colored the spaces white. Embarrassed, Chaima felt the blood rise to her cheeks as she quickly apologized. She felt immensely stupid to not have noticed such a grave mistake. "It's okay, nobody has seen you yet, aside from us servants. But we wouldn't want to drag our employers through the mud, would we?" Nodding some more in agreement, Chaima could only stand there, feeling like a child who got scolded after playing in the dirt.

"Listen, Chaima!" The sharp sound of the head maid's voice tore her out of her thoughts again, their eyes meeting. Chaima's grey met the dark brown ones of her caretaker and it was clear to her, that whatever was going to be said now, was of high priority. "We have royal guests in the house the next three days. I need you to be presentable and attentive, do you copy?" Again, Chaima nodded, this time a little bit more awake than the other times before, showing she was listening. "So far the others have been taking over your duties. Go change and then join them in the saloon. I am counting on you and your diligence, make it so that these people will never want to leave our care again, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Chaima replied, bowing deeply. It was an honor to be given such an important task, even if it seemed minor to other people. The trust Hama had in her went down like butter, but Chaima knew she was expected to work hard for it. "Fine, go now," the head maid ordered, to which Chaima quickly obeyed. Bowing once more, she promptly took the stairs up to the door, leaving the room behind. "Such a nice girl," Alinar mumbled, his spoon shaking in his frail hand as long as he stopped eating. "Indeed," Hama agreed, taking another sip of her tea.

Lifting her skirt, Chaima took two steps at once, dashing up the stairs to the servant quarters. After all the years it didn't bother her so much anymore, that the attic-like space was barely illuminated by any light and she quickly found the third door to her right. In total there were ten rooms, nine of which were occupied and one free. Inside it was a little lighter than in the hallway to the room, a little window of the size of her forearm letting in some sun from outside. The room was nothing special. It was exactly big enough for one bed - which was comparatively generous to the one she knew from her home - and one commode with three drawers, which accommodated all her belongings.

Chaima quickly changed out of her skirt, disposing of it on her bed to wash it later and opening the middle drawer with her clothes. Folded neatly, she took out a similar looking black skirt, though this one was a little tighter and looked fancier than her normal one. For a second her hand brushed over the neatly sorted packs of envelopes she kept next to her clothes. Sighing, she closed the drawer again and slipped into her bottom, grabbing for the comb that was placed on top of the commode. Swiftly opening her bun, she combed through her hair before binding it up again.

With another sigh, she sat down on her bed. Even though she knew she had to hurry, Chaima couldn't help but take a deep breath and try to calm her racing heart. Either the sprint to her room or the talk with the head maid had left her restless. So she placed her left hand on top of her chest and slowly breathed in and out, steadying her heartbeat. Her gaze went to the right, looking at the one pillow she possessed. It was pretty old and had lost quite a few of its feathers, but it still was comfortable to her. Reaching out her right hand, she disturbed the peace of the pillow by moving under it and pulling on the cold metal she felt beneath it.

Forth came Chaima's prized possession. The only thing that had value - both in terms of money and emotional attachment - in this whole house for her. The milky white handle felt surprisingly warm in her hands, ivory being such a delicate but charming material. But the higher her finger drifted, the colder it felt, a golden ring separating the handle from the decorative branches that followed. Two golden flowers sat on top of the twigs, each of them decorated with a shimmering pink stone right in the middle and around them little petals of the same material as the rest of the decoration. Anchored to the lower branches where three delicate chains, ending in three oval rose quartzes, completed the hairpin.

"When you find a good man, you have to give this to him," the voice of her real mother rang in her head. Chaima could only smile. She? Finding a man? Here? "Not in this lifetime, mother." Putting the hairpin back, Chaima got up, patting her clothes one last time. Somehow she expected them to be dusty after staying in her room for a while, but that was not the case. Calm now, she closed the door behind her, descending the stairs quickly, and making her way to the saloon.

To say it came as a surprise, who was sitting in the saloon and drinking tea, would have been an exaggeration. Through the door that led to a servant area, Chaima and two of her co-maids - Masumi and Madoka - peeked at the guests. "They are so~ cool!" Masumi whispered, drawing back first. "I wish I had a dress like the princess…" Madoka added, all three of them making a circle in the small preparations room. "I am done for…" Chaima muttered, staring at the stone floor, deep in her thoughts. The twins gave each other a questioning look, before turning to her.

"Did something happen?" they asked at the same time. Chaima held her hand in front of her mouth, not wanting to overshare and feeling like this would stop her from doing so. "Well, I got in a little accident back in the city and they kind of know me already," she confessed, watching the two maids exchange a knowing look. "That accident," Masumi said. "Yeah, they have been talking about it since they arrived here," Madoka added. Sighing deeply, Chaima rubbed her palms over her face, desperately asking the two of them for advice. "What should I do?"

"Well, it should be fine as long as they don't see your face right?" Confused, Chaima nodded her head, turning to Madoka when she started to speak too. "Just serve the royals then. They don't look at us anyway." To the two twins, this sounded like a great idea, though Chaima wasn't so convinced. She knew she had to do something but wasn't it a little risky? Biting her lower lip, she quietly agreed. When the previously heated pot of hot water started to whistle, she quickly used the few tea skills she had learned over the years to serve six beautiful cups. Separating three cups each, she gave one of the prepared trays to Masumi, taking the other one for herself, and Madoka used a third one to transport biscuits and other sweets to the guest.

With every step she made out of the door, Chaima was sure she was never going back in there in one piece again. The three guests sat in the ebony chairs directly across the three members of the house that attended to them. The saloon was huge, though the seating area almost seemed cramped, as they were all hustling together while taking their tea. Nobody gave the hunting trophies on the walls around them any mind - even though the dead eyes of the animals seemed to judge them from above - and the same was the case for the huge shelves with the expensive collection of different wine and liquor. Otherwise, the saloon, much like the ones found in the houses of Reim - or so the head maid had told her - was rather minimalistic, only a few more relics standing around in the corners, collecting dust.

Her heart felt like jumping out of her chest when her gaze fell upon her nemesis, the man in the yellow robe, seated the closest to her. She noticed how his neck slightly flinched as if he noticed something just now, and he was just about to turn his head in her direction, as she jumped behind the chairs of the royal guests and out of his sight. Luckily, he hadn't seen anything and apparently he wasn't interested in throwing a look behind himself either. Then again, Chaima could see the smug grin on the twins' faces, the two of them enjoying her discomfort way too much.

With slightly shaking hands, she reached forward from behind him, placing one cup in front of the yellow-dressed man. She could have screamed when he leaned back and her face was almost close enough to breathe into his ear. Naturally, she held her breath in his presence and took a quick charge backwards when the cup finally reached the table. If it wasn't for being in plain view of the two owners of the house and their oldest daughter, Chaima would have totally kneeled down behind the chair and never gotten up ever again.

"I really can't believe what happened to you back on the streets. I feel kind of ashamed that we couldn't have made your travel a bit more comfortable, Your Highnesses," Lady Parizade spoke. The lady of the house didn't really possess such a title, but if in the company of guests, she always ordered to be called that by the servants. Somehow it stuck with Chaima, so she referred to her as such constantly. Indeed, she had something noble about her, probably the posture and the way she held herself with her words and gestures. Then again, better than anyone, Chaima knew just how conceited and overconfident this woman was, fooling anyone if necessary. She wasn't the youngest anymore, but she sure liked to draw attention to herself, especially through her very peculiar taste in color-combinations. Then again, not like Chaima knew anything about fashion anyway.

The next to serve tea to was surprisingly a girl. From the short encounter they had, Chaima couldn't remember seeing her on the scene. With the bright pink hair and fitting clothes in the same color, adorned with green and yellow parts, she made for an extravagant appearance herself. Just from standing behind her, Chaima could make out just how soft the clothes must be, and the closer she got, she found little ornaments embroidered on them. Chaima only had a second to see the princess's face, but from what she saw, she looked quite young, maybe even younger than Chaima herself. When Chaima drew back, she made out the smell of a sweet floral perfume, fitting for a princess and nice on the senses, how she found.

"Certainly, it was a bit of a hassle," the man with the fan said pridefully, taking a sip of his cup. "What a fine tea," he remarked, sounding a little surprised. "Oh, Master Ka Koubun, you have such refined taste. It's indeed a very special blend from the Reim Empire!" Iskander praised. _Ka Koubun huh?_ Chaima thought. She finally had a name to that face, making her somewhat relieved and scared at the same time. Iskander - head of the house - was quite a chipper man. No matter what subject he was talking about, he was able to turn it into a new way to earn money. Building an imperium in the merchant market wasn't easy, but he had made a head start at his time and since held his reputation high. Sadly, every glory came at a price and when he was not entertaining people with his words, he was spending money on other things like alcohol and the company of highly prized ladies of the night. Over the years he had gained quite some pounds, making him look round in his finely sewn clothes. Somehow Chaima could understand him. After all, he was surrounded by people who where nagging at him, both in private and in business. However, the path he took to compensate with these circumstances was something Chaima couldn't approve of.

Last but not least, she placed the cup next to the second male. Even from behind he had a stately build and immediately she recognized the black cape hanging off his shoulders. Chaima had thought the princess had a nice smell, but it was unmatched to what she thought of the smell from him. Maybe because he was a noble too, but he smelled like the woods, just much more delicate and with a spicy hint. His hair was of an incredible red color, that gave off an even more majestic vibe than the many golden elements adorning his clothes. Surprisingly it came to her as a rush of disappointment, that she was only able to see him from the back, and she could feel her heart jump a few times higher than usual just imagining what he'd look like from the front.

Suddenly, the prince - so she had figured by now - leaned forward, while she set down the cup on the table, their hands brushing each other lightly. With eyes like a scared deer, Chaima blinked a few times, their faces almost near enough to touch. It certainly was only a moment that their eyes met before he picked up the cup and had a taste of the tea himself. She didn't know how, but she managed to pull away, leaving the room with hasty steps. Right now nothing really mattered, and she didn't dare to breathe until she had closed the door to the preparations room behind her.

"Good job," Madoka teased, grinning from ear to ear. However, one look at Chaima and the grin turned into a huge question mark over her face. Masumi noticed it too and the two shared another silent conversation, ending in both of them shrugging. "Chaima, are you okay?" one of the twins asked, concern in her voice. Chaima could only sigh, taking another deep breath, as she felt how her head grew hotter and hotter. There were tears welling up in her eyes, her whole body going through a rollercoaster of emotions.

There was fear. He had seen her. He knew who she was and where she was from. One word and her life in this city - maybe even this country - would be lost forever. She was clueless and helpless, fearing the worst to happen any second now. What she had done wasn't even that bad, but she was sure something like this could end her chances of ever getting a job again, just because they were royalty. She couldn't believe herself when she thought about it, but she needed this job. More than anything she needed to stay here and earn money.

But then, there was something completely different. Something unexpected, something she couldn't have seen coming in one million years. "He smiled…" she whispered, making the other two listen up. "Huh, are you sure? That man looks pretty grim if you ask me." Madoka agreed with her sister, the two nodding at each other. "Well, yeah. I think… Maybe? It wasn't even a real smile, more like a smirk… I am not sure okay?" Chaima defended her statement. Leaning her back against the cold wooden door she rubbed her palms over her cheeks, trying to regulate her breathing which had become unsteady from the adrenaline and panic rushing through her. _But what if… ?_ she thought quietly to herself. What if it really was a smile that he gave her? Did it mean that he really had figured it out or did it mean she was safe? And if it really was the latter, was that a good sign, or a bad one?


	3. Chapter III

There wasn't much left for Chaima to do. The twins had agreed to watch over the guests while Chaima resided in the small preparation room, waiting for her doom to come over her. Maybe it was just her imagination, but the tension in the room - which she emitted - was flickering in the air. The door wasn't closed shut, letting her listen to the words that were spoken in the saloon. She was just waiting for her name to be said, full with shock and anger in their voices, before she'd be called out and then judged. Shuddering, Chaima put her hands back to work, washing some of the dirty dishes that laid in the small stone sink.

Leaning against the wall to the right of the door once she finished cleaning everything in the room that needed her attention, Chaima sighed. The conversation surely had been going on for a while now, and she couldn't really figure out what the topic was from the small word fragments that reached her as she concentrated on it. So far, everything seemed to go well, and no word was spoken about the accident anymore. A little strange, how she found, but it gave her a feeling of reassurance. Looking to her left, she could make out the sun setting through the window, and she almost felt relieved that she'd be off the case for today. Once they proceeded to have dinner, the other maids would take over.

"Oh my, what a scatterbrain I am. Have I introduced my delightful daughter to you yet, my lords?" Chaima's ears focused on the words that reached her absent mind, as she followed the conversation more closely now as well as harboring some interest in it. "Aliya is a real treasure, let me tell you. She plays three instruments and has already set foot in the business!" Parizade's compliments rained down on the guests, making Chaima snicker quietly. Aliya was a fine woman indeed. The first daughter was about Chaima's age and was considered a gorgeous gem by her family. While Chaima had no bad words to say about her, Aliya being a good and decent girl with manners and a kind attitude, her mother used to go a little overboard when it came to praising her daughter. It went as far as to the point Aliya herself had to step in.

"Mother, please," she laughed, embarrassment swinging in her voice. "What now? You are a great girl, and I am sure their highnesses will agree to it!" There was a somewhat awkward moment of silence, before an agreeing hum went through the rows, followed by Parizade's delighted cry, "See?" Chaima smirked, thinking about how strange the higher society was and what they found worth conversing about. "Especially for you, Lord Kouen, it might be a pleasure for Aliya to spend some time with you. Maybe tomorrow, over a cup of tea?"

Swiftly, Chaima changed the side of the door she stood at, so she'd be able to see the group as they continued chatting. She was able to see Iskander smiling as nicely as he could, nodding to what his wife was offering to the royal. It took a little while and some more offered activities before a vague sound of agreement left the prince's lips. Chaima was able to make out Aliya's flushed face from her position, probably since the girl knew what her mother was implying with her suggestions. Parizade was very much in her element, happily gesturing along to the stories she picked up to tell them about. Aliya kept quiet, taking little sips of her tea every so often, her eyes peeking over the brim of her cup, as she inspected the door.

Certainly, so Chaima thought, Aliya had a different person on her mind than the guests she was supposed to amuse in front of her. The maid knew that a certain neighbor had made quite the impact on the young mistress. So much even, that she almost spent all her days over at his place. Chaima liked Aliya and found it incredibly cute that she was very bold about her persuasion of the boy that stole her heart. From the bottom of her heart, Chaima hoped it wouldn't come to a bad end for them, though she also knew that their fate was out of her hand.

Her eyes kept wandering to the other side of the table. At first, she inspected Ka Koubun. He had opened his fan, slowly and gracefully waving it in front of his face. His eyes seemed to follow the conversation, but he rolled his shoulders a few times, signaling he was pretty much enduring it rather than enjoying it. Next to him sat the princess, who just stared down at her cup. She hadn't taken a sip out of it, and the way she was fixating it with her eyes showed some form of being rooted in thought. Chaima, however, admired that, even though she seemed to space out, she kept her posture noble and dignified, with every piece of her garments laid out perfectly on the chair. For once, Chaima had to agree with Madoka. To have a dress like the princess must be but a dream come true.

And then there was the prince. Even though she was finally able to see his face, Chaima had no full name to give him still. While she had picked up "Kouen" once now, she blamed her meager education for not even knowing the imperial family's names. She could make out the hard features of his face, his brows furrowed and lips closed in a thin line. Only the vibrant red of his eyes shone through the stoic facade he put up. His hair had a certain wildness to it, though it didn't look unkempt. Instead, it seemed like it was made to look like this on purpose. The goatee that rounded off his appearance struck her as a questionable fashion choice, even though it fit him somehow and gave him a dignified aura. He was clothed in various pieces of red and black fabric, with golden ornaments hanging off from various places. Certainly, he looked like a person of royalty, though Chaima couldn't help but feel that there was more behind his stoic appearance than one may assume.

She gave him a look over for a while longer, curious about the man with the sharp eyes. His posture was stiff, arms crossed in front of his chest and legs spread as far as the armrests gave them the freedom to. Overall, he looked less interested in the conversation than even the other two, but he also seemed extremely good at hiding it. _Are all aristocrats like this?_ she wondered, finding it very strange that they didn't have any apparent interest in what they were doing at all. She slowly let her eyes go up to his face again, two red orbs staring right back at her.

Her heart felt like falling out of place once again this day, as Chaima tumbled back, hiding herself behind the wall that separated the two rooms. Only the heavy thumping of her heart rang in her ears, and she felt like flopping down to the ground in an effort to hide away even more. Her curiosity had never done her any good, and that was just another time she was reminded of it. First, he had noticed her as she served him the tea, probably marking the end of her and now he had even caught her looking him up and down. It was a mess, and so were her feelings at that very moment.

It came to her as a very merciful stroke of luck when she heard the following words coming from Parizade as she spoke, "Well, how about we go to the dinner table now? Your excellences must be hungry and exhausted from the long day. Please follow me!" As if on command, everyone stood up, following behind the lady of the mansion and her husband, while Aliya let them go ahead and walked at the end of the march. It felt unreal when Chaima heard how the two maid sisters started to pick up the dishes. The clacking and their lively chatter seemed wrong to Chaima, who had waited for her doom to close in on her all this time.

She could only stare at them in disbelief as they entered the preparation room, exchanging a knowing look between them when they notice her. "It's over," Madoka noted while starting to wash the dishes. "I can't wait for dinner," Masumi chimed, accompanied by a grumble of her stomach, which made the two of them snicker. "You can go on ahead if you want, Chaima. You look like you could need a few minutes before facing the others again." _That terrible?_ Chaima asked herself before nodding slowly, excusing herself and thanking the team for their hard work. She left through the side door, leading into a servants corridor, though it felt like she had to drag her feet over the ground, instead of really walking with them. Somehow it didn't even feel like she was coordinating her own body, rather, her body knew what to do and was able to act separately from her mind. And so she proceeded, trying to gather her thoughts and steady herself again. It didn't quite work out like she hoped it would.

It was pitch black in the hallway by the time Chaima arrived. She used her hand to guide herself along the walls, even though she knew the path to the kitchen like the pocket of her vest. However, on this day, nothing seemed to go right. So cautious as she was, Chaima held on to the thin walls, as if she had to hold on for her dear life. From afar, she was able to see a slim light coming from the half-closed door to the kitchen. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to just downright walk inside for dinner. It was the feeling of 'Nothing has happened yet' that lingered in her mind and kept her from doing any rash things. However, the slight pinch in her tummy also reminded her of her need to eat.

Chaima didn't hear the footsteps approaching, jumping at a voice speaking up. "Are you not going in?" Looking up from the floor that her eyes had been staring at, deep in thought as she was, she could make out the silhouette of Nysete as she was lightly shone upon from the light inside the room. It was her fellow maid, who previously had taken over Naaji. She was a slim girl, a little older than Chaima, but through and through a quiet soul, speaking little to none at times. It wasn't like Chaima had a special connection to her, but she would have said that the two did get along quite well in their working relationship.

"No, I'm coming," Chaima replied, trying to smile, even though both her voice and lips were more vague than really convincing. Nysete didn't mind. Maybe she didn't care? Or she noticed but didn't want to question it. Nevertheless, she only shrugged, opened the door and went inside ahead of Chaima. Taking a deep breath, Chaima bit her lower lip, feeling unsure about what was awaiting her. Telling herself to be brave, she put one foot before the other, checking the kitchen area upon entering it.

Surprisingly, a lot of the servants were gathered. Most maids and butlers - Alinar and Hama included - as well as most of the kitchen staff, consisting of Vian and his two kitchen helpers. It was surprising, considering that there were guests in the house, that so many were assembled, even though their dinner probably was finished already. There was a short moment of movement at the table, as everyone made space for Nysete, who had already gotten her share of food, and also Chaima who had been noticed by now. The clonking of a scoop against a metal pot tore her out of her observations, and she turned to the side, looking at Vian who seemed to wait for her impatiently.

"Do you want food or do you just like standing around and watching people eat?" Breathing in some more air, Chaima quickly braced herself, taking the few steps down into the area and approached the cook. He seemed a little reluctant as he prepared a bowl for her, but at least he kept silent while doing so. Bowing politely, she took it from him, grabbed some cutlery, and turned towards the table. Everyone had left her a spot next to Nysete, which she eagerly took, stretching out her legs and circling her feet once she sat down.

No one said anything. It was dead quiet, aside from the buzzing pot on the stove. Dinner this evening was a barely good-looking soup. However, Chaima had quickly learned to not judge any of Vian's cookings by their appearances. Most of the time it tasted better than it looked, and so it was on that night too. Chaima had long stopped questioning what kind of food it was, either getting a stupid remark back or no answer at all. It was just how it was, take and be thankful for what you have. From the looks of it at least, it seemed to be from a round vegetable, probably peas or beans. The soup's taste was pretty good though.

Chaima was just about to take a spoonful of it, blowing gently against the liquid to cool it down before taking a nip on the spoon, only to be disturbed by the head maid's voice ringing out. "So how was it today, Chaima?" _Maybe I don't deserve any peace_ , she thought. Giving her best in putting up a smile, she leaned forward slightly, to look around her fellow servants towards Hama who had addressed her. "It was… good. Good, I'd say," Chaima tried to explain it, hoping her vagueness wouldn't be questioned right away. "So were they happy?" Nodding her head at the question, Chaima leaned back again and dedicated herself back at her soup. _As happy as three bored royals in the company of a pack of eccentrics can be_ , she told herself, blowing on to the spoon again.

"Well then, are the rooms prepared?" Hama continued her questions to a different maid sitting on the table. The latter agreed, explaining the room plan, to which Chaima listened intently. "From the five guest rooms that were currently available, we placed the prince and the princess separately on one side and the servants across their rooms, so they'll have it easier to access." This information came much to Chaima's surprise, and the words in her mind left her before she had time to think about them, "What about this other man, Ka Koubun?"

There was a moment of silence as everyone looked at her in confusion. Realizing that she had just poked her nose into something that shouldn't be of her concern, she instantly pursed her lips, a light blush of embarrassment blooming on her cheeks as she apologized quietly. The maid who had explained about the rooms before gave a questioning look to Hama, before directing her next words at Chaima, however, a little bit more quiet and secretive. "I heard he's not a royal, but rather an assistant or consultant to the princess, so we put him on the other side in his own room."

Hama nodded in agreement, having a sip at her soup before asking another question. "Was the luggage delivered properly too?" The other maid agreed, the table falling back into silence again. _Interesting_ , Chaima thought, _He plays the big fish, but he's really just another fry too._ Somehow, this knowledge satisfied her, and for a moment, she even felt happy again as she quickly ate away at her soup. It had been a long day, and Chaima felt exhausted. She was more than ready to excuse herself and go to sleep, knowing she'd probably toss and turn in her bed anyway.

She was just about to get up and leave when suddenly the door to the kitchen flew open and one of the butlers, who should have tended to the dinner at this very moment, stormed in, completely out of breath and hastily looking around. His eyes fixated on Chaima when he noticed her, and it was like they were glued to her body. However, Hama was quicker in speaking up than he was, directing her words at him, "Oh my, what's wrong? You're not supposed to be here right now." His head turned towards Hama, and he nodded as an agreement to her words. However, he snapped back just as fast, his eyes piercing Chaima again.

"Chaima, you are asked for! Right now, you are supposed to show the prince to his room. He demanded it, everyone's a little confused, but I need you to come with me right now!"

Perplexed, Chaima could only stare at her co-worker, bowl in hand and everyone looking just as confused. It was Nysete who reacted first, taking the dishes out of Chaima's hand, mumbling, "I'll take care of it, go." Chaima couldn't even thank her in words, as she made hasty steps up the stairs and joined the butler, who immediately dashed outside and into the hallway. Only for one second, she looked back at her colleagues. It had a bit of an encouraging idea behind it, as she hoped someone would cheer her on a little, but there was nothing like that. Everyone remained quiet, and there was nothing left for Chaima but to go for it.

All the time, as she was practically running through the hallways, she kept thinking of what to say. What if all of them were assembled? They'd instantly recognize her and pick on her probably. Why would a prince specifically demand someone to escort him to his room? Was there an ulterior motive or did he just want to embarrass her? Was this the end? Had she suffered all through the day to only find herself going to be fired and shamed now? The feeling of pain rushed through her as she noticed how hard she had clenched her fists. Her palms were sweaty, and even though she hadn't felt like it in so long, for once, she felt like slumping to the ground and starting to cry in the darkness of the hallway.

Meanwhile, the light at the end of the hallways came closer and closer. Every step seemed to echo in her ears, and she spoke her last prayers in her mind, as well as trying to come up with answers to certain questions someone may ask her. In her head there were scenarios played out, going from her pleading not to fire her, to her simply walking out through the main entrance into the darkness of the night and never to be seen again. None of them were in her favor, and it made her fear the encounter more and more.

Chaima just wondered how one day could possibly change her life that much. She would wonder about this a lot more often in the future.


	4. Chapter IV

The scene that unfolded in front of her felt utterly unreal. By the time she reached the passing point between the entrance hall - which either lead to the dining room, saloon or further inside the mansion - and the servant's corridor, her body had completely given up. Her mind could neither come up with any other scenario that could save her from this, nor give any commands to her body. In her frustration and fear, she had made her way to the meeting point, only to stand awkwardly and motionless in the middle of the room.

However, the prince sat alone on one for the four elegant, red cushioned chairs that were offered to guests to have a seat as they waited. Aside from his everlasting serious expression, he didn't give the impression of being tense. In fact, he might have been the most relaxed Chaima could imagine him to be. And yet, she still didn't have it in her to approach him while her co-worker did so with as much submissiveness as he could. She heard how he started to speak, his words noble, just like he was taught to handle guests of this caliber.

"Your Majesty, I have brought the person you requested. Please excuse me." After a sweeping motion of the prince's hand, the butler bowed, leaving the place and Chaima behind. Her brain screamed at her to do anything. Approach, smile, bow, talk. Be pleasant, be present, as the motto went. But she could do nothing. Her feet felt as if they had rooted on the wooden boards of the floor underneath her. Mouth dry, she gritted her teeth so much that if she had started to cry, it could have very well been from the pain she felt.

The shuffling of fabric was what made her get a grip on herself, as she observed how the prince slowly rose from his chair after having stared at the maid for a while. "Am I going to show myself to my room?" he asked. There was no amusement in his voice, even though his words could have very well hinted at him making fun of her. It made her anxious and even a little angry. If he was going to toy with her life that easily then he was a cruel man, how she figured. Nevertheless, Chaima slowly gained control over her limbs, shaking her head to disagree.

"No, of course not, Your Highness," she started, lowering her gaze down to the floor and curtsied before quietly adding, "Forgive my insolence." She could feel the tears burning up in her eyes as she was reminded of the happenings only hours ago, where she had to show similar gestures. Since she didn't believe that this was going to end well for her, she felt endlessly frustrated. Prince Kouen didn't even bother to say anything, instead, gesturing for her to lead the way with his hand. _Apparently, he is even too noble to talk to me_ , Chaima thought, putting on a meek smile and moved over to the sliding door leading further inside the mansion.

Using both hands, she slid it open, taking a step aside and letting the prince proceed first. It was the way she had been taught to behave. No looking into his eyes and no talking of unnecessary words. Always look indifferent as her opinion wasn't needed, and out of courtesy, always bow and be thankful of a noble following her lead. These weren't hard to understand rules, and yet they made her sick to the stomach. No matter how often she had to suck up to anyone in her life, may it have been her employer or the guests they welcomed, Chaima always thought that it was so wrong. She had kept these thoughts to herself all this time, but on this particular evening, she had trouble containing herself while facing her doom with every step she took.

The two moved to the indoor hallway around the inner garden. For a second, Chaima thought about mentioning something about the plants that were assembled in the small pit. The night was clear and quiet, but also dark and only the light of the candle lamps brightened their way to go. Even if she had mentioned the beautiful flowers, the prince wouldn't have been able to see them through the windows anyway. It was simply too dark outside. So she kept quiet, proceeding down the hallway.

On the small intersection leading straight ahead or right through another door, she didn't turn, moving straight forward to the guest chambers. The only sound that let her know that he was still following her were his footsteps. To her surprise, she found them to be rather tender for a man who was as tall and sturdy as he was. Then again, what did she know? Maybe his clothes let him appear like this and nothing more. The thought of him being not so imposing when he took off his garments cleared her mood a little bit, and she could feel a rush of happiness going through her for a moment. Cautiously, she bit onto her lip as to not smile and upset anyone.

They passed the first two guest rooms on her left and the meeting room as well as the first bedroom on her right. Chaima assumed that since he was the most important of the three, he should stay in the far back for safety reasons. At that moment, she realized she had no idea about how they were supposed to be divided. Swallowing down a big gulp of panic, she proceeded to open the room on her right side carefully. She was happy to find that the light had already been lit in anticipation inside the bedroom. For a moment, Chaima tried to see if the luggage that was stored there seemed manly, but she was disappointed by the plain, red boxes that really could have been for any person.

Prince Kouen wasn't as anxious about entering the room as Chaima was. However, he seemed interested in checking the boxes too, as he approached them with determination. "Close the door," he ordered, sounding as demanding as ever and waiting impatiently as she pushed the door back in place. Only when she heard the clicking of the locks that sprung open on the boxes behind her, Chaima realized that maybe she wasn't supposed to go into the room with him, making her situation worse for her.

She stood facing the wall with her back to him, needing to collect all her courage to glimpse over her shoulder shyly. Kouen had kneeled down, unfazed by her presence and opening one of the three boxes. From her point of view, she was able to make out some scrolls that were stored neatly inside of them, hearing him grunt before getting up again. "You." Her heart instantly dropped into her stomach as she slowly turned around, her hand holding on to the door grip to leave at any second. _Wrong room, wrong room, wrong room_ , she sang in her head, feeling how her forehead began to emit sweat pearls from the panic that drove through her.

To her dismay, the prince liked taking his time before continuing his words. He rolled his head from left to right, letting his eyes take in the room. On the wall left from the door, the boxes were placed, taking up the least amount of space as possible. Across them resided the big bed. It was a traditional one, made from dark wood and fitted specifically for the room. Wood carvings enclosed the resting space, and it was laid out with comfortable bedding. In all her life, Chaima had never seen a such an impressive bed, given she never worked as a housekeeper, and it left quite the impression on her.

Furthermore, there was a table made from the same wood as the bed, as well as a chair to sit on. The backside had sliding doors, which left it free from any furniture blocking the path. For the time being, however, they remained closed to secure the rooms for the guests. Outside was a small pathway leading to the garden. It was then that Chaima had an idea of how to escape her misery. Coughing lightly, she darted past the prince, checking the locks of the sliding door, opening the way to the outdoor area to make sure no one could come in easily while the prince rested. All that she did while the latter was still inspecting his new residence for the week, giving her the chance to build her plan on the surprise moments of her actions.

Once she proved herself of everything being alright, she turned to him. By now his eyes had fixated on her as he watched what she was doing. Chaima quickly curtsied again, reassuring him by saying, "I hope the room is to Your Highness's liking. I will now leave you to your rest. If you'll excuse me." When she opened her eyes after the bow, she only had the door leading to the hallway in mind and made hasty steps towards it, eager to leave this room and survive the day. But that wouldn't turn out like she wished it would.

His arm raised fast in front of her, and she could barely stem her feet into the ground to not run against it with full speed. It was a border to keep her from leaving, and he had erected it, knowing exactly what she had planned. "Not excused," he simply stated, his voice making her freeze in the position she had after stopping. Chaima couldn't even bear to look up or speak a word, the nervousness turning her into stone. Regardless, the prince lowered his arm, moving past her. She heard the rustling of fabric as Kouen took off his black cape, throwing it over the railing around the bed. He didn't seem to concern himself with the worth of the cape, or that it should be handled better than just being thrown somewhere.

Holding on to his right shoulder he rolled it a few times - Chaima had noticed the weird golden head of a lion that seemed to rest in that particular spot, maybe it was actually pretty heavy? - while walking over to the table and pulling out the chair from its position. She could only stare as he dragged it over the floor, in front of the boxes and facing the bed. "Sit," he demanded, pointing at the chair with his left pointer finger like you would when commanding a dog. However, Chaima saw herself in no position to disobey, so she followed his orders. In fact, she even looked like a scolded puppy, trembling slightly as she took a seat, trying to look anywhere but him.

Unfazed, he marched to the bed, letting himself sink into the entrance to the resting space, and crossed his arms. If one hadn't known better, he could have been her father, scolding his daughter for something stupid she did. _Maybe that thought isn't too far off_ , she told herself, trying to find any last piece of comfort as the situation seemed to continue to worsen for her. Though only through the little bit she let herself look at him - not daring to look at his face - she also had to find out that he was still extremely well-built underneath his large coat. With that, the bubbly thoughts she had about him actually being a wimp underneath his clothes burst, and she was left with no comforting thoughts to turn to anymore.

The moment of silence that fell over the two of them was unbearable. There was nothing funny she could have thought of to keep her from having paranoid scenarios playing through her mind again. This was it. From this point onwards, it would only get worse, that she was sure of. Chaima almost missed the moment he picked up his words again, as her mind had drifted off into the world of her fears. However, his stern voice was able to reach her even through the panic ringing in her ears.

"You are the one from this afternoon, right?" Inwardly she let out a deep sigh. Oh, he got her. He got her _so good_. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to her. However, it still did as she had planted hope inside of her mind until the end. _What am I supposed to do?_ she asked herself. Letting different ways of how to handle the situation run through her brain while she kept staring at the floor. Chaima found herself at the end of her wits soon enough. Clenching her fists, Chaima did the only thing that seemed appropriate in this situation. Gliding from the chair, she fell to her knees, laying out her hands on the cold, wooden planks of the floor and bowing deep, just how she had done before.

"I am so sorry!" she wept. By now there was nothing holding her back. All the anxiety and stress that had built over the last few hours washed out of her and gave her tears a free fall from her eyes. The salty water burned up her nose and the corner of her eyes, but it also freed her from the burden finally. "I should have been more careful, that should-" she took a deep breath, swallowing the big knot that was building in her throat before proceeding, "-That should never have happened!" Chaima barely managed to hold back the sobs, but she fought through them, feeling how her pride seemed to build up again slowly.

There was a moment of no words spoken before she heard the thud of his foot in front of her. She felt herself trembling at the pause between them and bit her lip in an attempt to find some hold, readying herself for anything that could happen now. Nevertheless, she remained in her position, not daring to get up and face him. It was then that he replied to her scene and she heard something small bumping against the wood in front of her. When she looked up, he had lowered his hand, his pointer impatiently tapping onto the floor with the knuckle. Noticing her seeing his gesture he spoke to her again, saying, "Come on." A bit perplexed and confused, she just looked up at him for a moment. She noticed that not only his voice was not as strict and demanding as before, but his face appeared to be much softer, aside from the many wrinkles that still grazed it.

Unsure, she carefully placed her hand in his, and with a fast tug, he pulled her and himself up. She was softly nudged backwards to the chair, flopping down the moment her knee pits came in contact with the material. The prince also took another step back to sit down again, facing her once more and taking a deep breath. While she felt confused about what exactly just happened, the tears still streamed down her rosy cheeks, and it made him raise his hand to his mouth and clear his throat. Reaching over to his cape, he turned the fabric over before pulling out a white piece of cloth, shaking it open and holding it towards her.

"Here." He let the piece of fabric wave in the air, animating her to take it with confusion. Her hand reached out slowly towards it, her body moving on its own accord. "Thank you…" she mumbled, feeling the cold silk against her skin and using a corner of it to dab it onto her eyes tenderly. She did so until the tears seemed to be absorbed by either the fabric or her dried-out skin, but at least there were no more coming when she was finished. For a second, she thought about giving it back to him. But she decided not to, fearing what might still await her.

"I take this as that it was indeed you, who we stumbled upon while traveling here." Chaima had her eyes fixated on the floor, biting her lip as she started to nod. Slowly at first but then very determined, she shook her head up and down, finally looking up at his face while clutching her fingers into the napkin. "Yes, that was me. I had taken my eyes off of the youngest son for a moment and... He simply escaped my grasp." There was a short moment of silence that felt like an eternity, before she heard him say, "Is that so…" Chaima could barely believe her eyes as an amused smirk fell over the prince's lips. But it was gone just as fast as it had come.

A little flabbergasted about what just happened, she suddenly found some courage in the change of his expression. "Did you- What… Is everything alright, Your Highness?" He turned his face back to her completely, the same expressionless look residing on it as always. "Indeed. You angered Ka Koubun quite a bit." She instantly regretted asking, her face flushing red from the embarrassment. It was no laughing matter for her, and she felt like he was having fun dragging her on again. It fueled a small flame of anger in her and acting in spite, Chaima made the decision to bring her misery to an end.

"What will happen to me now, Your Highness?"

She kept her voice soft, an underlying fear echoing in it. He was able to make out her panic through her expression, eyes widened, and her hands clenched while resting in her lap. She looked tenser than what he had expected her to be. True, it may have been his intention to confront her about this matter and maybe get himself some peace of mind, but after seeing her prior reaction, he had to wonder about the straightforwardness she showed him now. For a second, he felt the interest bloom inside of him, but he quickly dismissed that feeling. "Nothing," he answered, making it sound like this was the most natural conversation he ever had.

"Nothing?" Chaima repeated.

"Nothing," he confirmed once more, a hint of impatience reaching her.

Then again, she just couldn't let this sit on her like this. "Nothing is going to happen?" she asked again, not believing in her ability to hear and understand words. She could only see his body tensing as he took a deep breath and she unconsciously shied away deeper into her chair. The two stared at each other for a while before Chaima gained the fragments of all her teachings about etiquette back. Quickly, she averted her eyes, blushing lightly as she felt awkward about the happenings.

"You may leave now," he said. These words were unreal in her mind as she gave him a meek smile and crooked her head to the side. She had a short "Okay?" moment in her mind, as she stood up slowly, moving around the chair to pick it up and place it back at the table again. Moving back in front of him, she bowed politely. "Thank you, Sire." Chaima didn't get far, her hand resting at the handle of the sliding door that would guarantee her access to the hallways before she heard the prince speak up once more.

"What's your name?" She turned slightly to him, giving him another look directly into his eyes. "It's Chaima, Sir." Kouen nodded once at her, and she could hear how he took another deep breath. "Goodnight, Chaima." There was no hesitation in the way he spoke her name - even though she was no one important to him - and for a moment, she could only stare at him, her mouth opened partway. Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, she looked away from him, bowing slightly and opening the door before replying, "Goodnight, Your Highness."

Only much later she noticed that she still had the napkin he gave her. Chaima hoped she'd remember to return it to him in the morning, but somehow, she found it to be very comforting after this long day.


	5. Chapter V

Sleep fell over Chaima the moment she lay down to rest. The day had been awfully long, and now that the stress had dissolved, it felt like an eternity that she had lasted without any sleep. The night was calm for her, completely different from her day, and peaceful. She dreamed about red flowers on the water, but as soon as her eyes opened in the morning, she forgot the message of her nightly adventures. A little grumpy, she hefted her legs down from the bed, only to sit at the edge for a while.

The realization that today she wouldn't be servicing anyone presented her with a smile, and suddenly it wasn't so bad to get up. _There's washing,_ she thought while picking up the dirty skirt from yesterday, and also the handkerchief from the prince which she had placed onto her dresser. Her stomach grumbled shortly after, making her grin at herself. _And breakfast!_ she added to her thoughts, wondering what the day might bring for her. Chaima quickly got dressed, pushing the loose strands of hair out of her face like every day. For a second, she wondered if she should do a different hairstyle. However, she decided not to. It was simply too unpractical, how she thought.

In an unusually good mood, Chaima stepped out of her room, promptly running into Nysete. Her fellow maid had the room on the right side of hers, and it wasn't unusual for them to meet. However, Nysete instantly noticed the radiant mood coming from her co-worker, calmly asking, "Did anything happen yesterday?" Chaima probably looked very confused at first before she shook her head, prompting Nysete to dissolve the topic with a quick, "Nevermind." The two girls proceeded to make their way down the makeshift staircase, back into the servant hallway that led to the kitchen.

The whole sleeping quarters had been improvised and set under the space beneath the roof. Wooden planks separate the "rooms" from each other, and they were spaced out after how many people stayed in them. In the summers it was hot, and in the winters it was freezing cold. But Chaima was not one to complain about it as long as she had a bed and even a little privacy. She had seen different circumstances at the places she had stayed before, and it felt luxurious to her to even have this room.

"Are you heading for breakfast?" Nysete asked, being unusually talkative. Chaima nodded before replying, "I will just drop this into the laundry room for a second and then come join you." They reached the entrance to the kitchen and separated briefly, Chaima moving on to the next room. The mansion was spacious, there was no question about that fact. She passed the chambers of the security guards right from her and turned into the room next to the kitchen to her left. The light from the early morning shone through the windows, lighting her path into the laundry room. She couldn't help herself from sighing at all the unwashed sheets piling in the wooden baskets. Throwing the two things of hers on top of the gigantic masses of white fabric, she decided to bother herself with the task once she had some breakfast.

Determining that this was a good idea, she walked out the door again, closing it behind her and bowing briefly to a guard that just left for the change of shifts. All the guards were usually nice to be around, funny guys and smiling. Then again, it was early in the morning and Chaima wasn't interested in conversing all that much. However, she felt awfully chipper this morning, though she was unsure why. Her feet made little leaps of happiness as she went back to the kitchen, being torn out of her merry happiness as she stumbled down the stairs, barely managing to get a hold on the wall.

Of course, her little mishap wasn't left unseen, and while she felt embarrassed, she still didn't feel upset over Vian's spiteful grin when he handed her the plate for breakfast. Instead, Chaima thanked him, smiling widely which irritated him. Vian clicked his tongue at her, before turning and continuing where he left off with food preparations. Undeterred, Chaima took a seat at the table, starting to nibble away on her serving of rice and the other small dishes that were assembled on her plate. It made sense for that kind of breakfast to be served on this day, considering they had high-class nobles who were probably used to it.

Nevertheless, she wasn't complaining. It was a welcome change to the normally uncharitable breakfast they had, so she liked it. She didn't get to eat real Kou-Cuisine a lot, considering that she was from Balbadd originally and her employers liked to indulge into different cuisines than the standard one of their hometown. It really was an extraordinary day, and her mood was undestroyable, to the point that the others noticed it too. The table wasn't too much in conversation, sometimes one of the people assembled let out a yawn. However, Nysete seemed to have an irresistible urge to break her quietness on that day.

"You are in an unbearably good mood, Chaima," she noted, staring down at her plate as she picked around in it. Shrugging, Chaima continued to eat, her mind already processing on how to defeat the piles of fabric she would have to conquer. "I slept very well," she explained, making the people around her huff in disbelief. "I am sure you did," Nysete replied. There was something irritating about her voice as if she was mocking her. Chaima didn't want to believe Nysete would be the type to be mean, but for the first time on this day, she wondered about if the people were looking differently at her than usual.

Was it because she was happy? Or maybe because she got a good night's sleep? _Maybe it's because a prince called for you_ _,_ her subconsciousness whispered. Chaima really wanted to forget this thought immediately. It wasn't like this, and it hurt a little to imagine her trusted co-workers to be jealous about such a minor thing. Immediately Chaima felt as if there was a huge cloud hanging menacingly over her happiness. The breakfast didn't seem to be so special anymore, as she quickly dug through it, stuffing herself with the food. She didn't need long to finish her plate, getting up from the bench and walking over to the sink to rinse it clean.

She drove her hands over her skirt to dry them off before quickly walking up the stairs and leaving. The cloud of depression still hung over her as she made her way to the laundry room. However, once she set a foot outside the kitchen, she at least felt like being able to breathe again. It was troublesome how one thought could affect the whole day. Chaima kept moving since it wasn't something that would stop her from her work. However, she just wished she'd have been able to uphold the happiness from before, as it gave her some positivity for once in her life.

When she opened the door to the backyard, a fresh breeze clashed into her face, making her take a deep breath. Yes, the good mood had gone, and the small feeling of frustration bulged in her belly. Before she knew what she was doing, she had taken the three steps down, her feet landing on the green grass and walking towards the well that stood lonely next to the clotheslines. Next to the cold, grey stone was a wooden bucket. A big one, in fact. It was the one for the laundry, and Chaima picked it up as if in a trance, buckling it onto the hook of the well and letting it fall into the water. It made an echoing, splashing sound and once she heard the gurgling of the fluid as it splashed into the free space, she used the hook on the side of the well to retrieve the bucket.

Even though she did it often and worked hard every day, the pulling still brought forth some exhaustion in her arms, and she was happy to take the bucket off, letting it rest on top of the border of the well for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she heaved it upwards, stumbling a little because of the weight. The water splashed back and forth, drenching her clothes and hands. Once she got her hold on the ground again, she turned and walked back to the entrance she had come from. But she wasn't supposed to get that far, the wetness of her hand making her grip on the handle slippery, to the point where she accidentally let go of the bucket.

Falling to the ground, the water bucket moisturized the dirt, soaking it thoroughly. Chaima let out an annoyed groan before kicking the bucket a few meters through the yard in frustration. It was not going well for her, and she was well aware of that. The day had started out so good, where had this feeling of a relaxed work day gone? Was she really going to be brought down by one stupid, unconfirmed thought of hers? She sighed for a long time. _That's no good, Chaima_ , she told herself. In an attempt to motivate herself, she patted her thighs, then her shoulders and then stretched her body towards the sky. It certainly might have looked stupid if anyone had seen her, but it did make her feel a bit better.

She quickly picked up the bucket again, filled it with water once more and finally marched back into the house and to the laundry room. "Better get to work…" she murmured into the silent room. Chaima looked for a small stool, pulling it and also the first basket full of dirty fabrics to the round wash basin. Using the water and a bit of soap that she found on a shelf, she got to work, washing out all the stains and dirt she found. It was tiring work, making her hands swell up after only doing the first few pieces of fabrics. However, Chaima pulled through, pushing the painful feelings away while finishing up the first batch.

By the time she was finished with the first basket, the sun had risen, and Chaima decided to bring the laundry outside to let it dry before she continued with the second batch. Even though Chaima had considered the water bucket as heavy, it was nothing compared to the weight of the wet cloths. She could barely manage to get it up the few stairs to the exit of the room, deciding to run it outside, where she could finally let it down. Brushing off some sweat, she waited for a few seconds until the woozy feeling in her head slowly vanished before picking up the sheets one by one and hanging them onto the lines.

It was not like she was a weakling or delicate in stature, so the activities shouldn't have exhausted her like they did. However, after the last batch - by now it was the early afternoon - Chaima felt drained of all her strength. Sitting down onto the steps leading into the mansion, she let out a long sigh. The fresh breeze felt good against her face, her cheeks slightly reddened from the effort, and she pulled up her legs onto the second highest step to bury her face in their thighs.

 _Maybe it's the aftermath from yesterday,_ she thought as she wondered about her own exhaustion. It was very likely that all the stress and anxiety from the day before now weighed down onto her. Chaima shivered as another breeze hit her, her clothes being a little wet from having worked with water so much that now they felt cold against her skin. Getting up from her seat, she casually walked over, hiding between the sheets that swayed in the wind. She went through them, carefully running her hands over them to see if they were dry or still damp from the wash.

It was a nice day actually. The birds chirped in their trees, and the sun was warm without any clouds hovering over it. Besides the few times Chaima felt cold, the wind also cooled her down after that hard but also satisfying work, so she couldn't really complain. Besides herself being a bit gloomy, it really was a good day to be outside and lost in thoughts. She didn't hear the approaching footsteps, deep between the white sheets already, as she heard someone speak suddenly.

"Quite a confusing building," a manly, strangely familiar voice said. Chaima immediately raised her head, turning it from side to side, being blinded by the white around her. "Eh… uh…" she stuttered, not being able to make out any human silhouette around her. "Who… Who is it? I can't really see, wait I am coming out!" She pushed the hung up sheets in front of her out of the way, trying to get through and promptly ran into a stately figure. Tumbling backwards, she lost her foothold and found herself in danger of falling to the ground, tearing some of the fabric down with her.

However, her body didn't come close to the ground like she expected. She had already shut her eyes and awaited the hurtful thud onto the ground when she felt a hand grab around her arm and another one resting at her back. There was a quick pull upwards, and she found herself in an upright position just moments later. For a few seconds, she pinched her eyelids closer together before opening one eye slowly after the other.

She didn't expect to meet flaming red ones staring back at her the moment she opened her eyes. Chaima felt how the heat - that had previously risen from the work - in her face rose again, as she gained control over her feet and withered out of his grip and a few steps back. Ren Kouen didn't mind letting her go, freeing his hands from her as he watched her intently, finally brushing off one of the sheets from his shoulders and walked into the space between the two clotheslines.

Again, her mind couldn't come up with a good greeting, just like the day before. She merely bowed deeply and mumbled shakingly, "I'm so sorry, Your Highness! I didn't mean to run into you! I- I just…" There was a mix of a huff and a sigh coming from him, which made her turn her head upwards while remaining in a bowing position. He had his arms crossed and looked less amused than ever, however, his eyes weren't fixated on her as she had expected. _He must be angry…_ she thought as she got back into a deeper bow, waiting for him to speak.

"Is that mine?" he asked, prompting her to slowly straighten her back and give him a confused look. She followed the direction his outstretched pointer finger went, finding herself looking at the handkerchief from the day before. Hesitantly, she turned her back to him, fearing it might be rude to not look into his direction anymore, before pulling it off from the clothesline. It felt dry, and with two quick moves of her hands, she had folded it into a smaller size, reaching it over to him.

Chaima remembered how she had cried in his presence yesterday and practically lost face in front of the prince, which made her flush bright red because of the shame. Regardlessly of her feelings, he took the piece of fabric, lifted the side of his coat and stuck it back into a pocket there. The two ended up staring at each other quietly for a bit before a sharp and fast spoken "Thanks," left the prince's lips. _That wasn't so hard_ , Chaima thought. She slowly lowered her gaze, only to lift it up immediately again as a thought struck her.

"Forgive my question, but what are you doing here, Your Highness?" she asked. The prince had a tendency to take long breaks before answering, leaving her restless like always. "I was looking for the horses and ended up here." _Okay,_ Chaima thought, glancing behind him, where the stables resided indeed, so it didn't seem like a lie. She nodded at him, giving him a sign that she believed it and gazed at him for a few seconds. Like the day before, he was dressed elegantly, and she couldn't find even a wrinkle on his cape. His servants must be very good at their job to provide him with these fine clothes even while traveling.

"Where's the entrance?" he asked, staring her down mercilessly. She cleared her throat before speaking up again, trying to maintain a good figure in front of him. "I'll show you, Sir. It's just behind the stables…" she started, taking a few steps in the direction before being interrupted by him. "What about that entrance?" He asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulders, vaguely into the direction of the servant's entrance. Chaima couldn't help but look back and forth between him and the direction of the door - the sight still covered by the white sheets - unsure of what to do.

"Well, I mean… technically… b-but it's for the servants, My Lord…" she stumbled, leaning her body towards the direction of the stables again as if she was trying to motivate him. "That's fine." he simply replied, turned on his heels and made his ways through the laundry. Chaima could only stand there for a few seconds, baffled by his bluntness, before she made haste to follow in his tracks, barely reaching him before the steps.

Jumping up the stone steps, she found herself hesitating at the door. For the first time, she felt a little ashamed to go into the darker servant hallways. They weren't pretty, barely lit. Chaima realized there might be some mold stains, and people having dropped off their stuff that they worked with everywhere. The makeshift quarters and the staircase aside, it was nothing she wanted to show to a noble, even less a prince. And somehow, she really didn't want to show him of all people.

"You Majesty, maybe we really should…"

"Just open it," he grumbled. There was no choice left in his voice, and he seemed to lose patience with every second that she fiddled around with the doorknob. Chaima proceeded to open it painfully slow, the door creaking in response to the movement. Biting her lips, she felt terrible as she stepped aside to let him pass, the two being engulfed in darkness. Except for the little light that came in from the few windows available, it was very dark. _At least it hides the stains,_ Chaima thought, noticing the dirty smell that seemed to linger in the air.

Her plan was to take a few steps and then immediately turn left. She would lead him by the kitchen, laundry room, and security chambers. Back into the official hallway that would bring him directly to his own room and never to return. "This way please…" she mumbled, trying to keep quiet and not make a big ruckus. Hell would turn cold if anyone found out she had brought him to the servant area.

She lead the way, already having stepped into the desired direction when she noticed him having stopped in his tracks. Turning back to him, she cocked her head, giving him a questioning look. From what she could make out, he had halted at the intersection, looking in the direction she didn't want him to go. "What's the staircase for?" He asked, his red eyes piercing hers even in the darkness. "To the… to the servant rooms, Sir," Chaima finally admitted, looking at the floor in shame.

"I see." Without any other word or hesitation, he picked up his speed again, marching towards the staircase. Chaima could only watch him in horror, hunting after him and seeing him having made his first steps onto the stairs already. "W-Wait, you can't go there! There's nothing there! Your Highness, please…" He gave her a very displeased look over his shoulder, huffing at her words.

"You saw my room. It's only fair to show me yours now."


	6. Chapter VI

She should have cleaned. She should have picked up the loose papers on the floor, made her bed, and closed the drawers of her dresser. Chaima quickly moved in front of the prince to shut the loosely hanging drawer displaying her skirts. Her head was as red as Kouen's hair, and for once she was happy about the slight darkness in the room that hid her from his sight, even if it was just for a little. He simply stood in the doorway, arms crossed and face as stern as ever. She had never found her room to be extremely small, but for both of them there was barely any space to stand upright in it.

It was a strange mixture of shame and realization. For the first time, Chaima thought that her living conditions weren't as good as she always had praised them to be. Even to her it was unclear why she felt so ashamed in front of him all the time, but she did. Through the small window that lightened the room, she could see how the dust twirled through the air, and Chaima couldn't help but let out a quiet, desperate sigh. Wringing her hands in front of her stomach, she looked at the floor. It was dead quiet between them, even a needle hitting the ground would have been louder.

She held her breath for most of the time, disconnecting a little from what was happening. Even more so, Chaima flinched when Kouen moved further into the room. He knelt down - surprisingly elegant she found - and picked up one of the papers on the floor. Standing up with it, he inspected it in the small light resource they had. "Writing practice?" he mumbled. The question in his voice pierced through her like an icy dagger, and she just returned to looking down in shame.

The way he had looked over to her clearly showed he wanted some answers, but Chaima kept silent, not feeling like saying anything. He proceeded to pick up more of the notes on the ground as well as one of her mathematic books which rested next to her bed and also acted like a nightstand for her candle. He looked through the papers, flipping a few pages in the book, all while Chaima fumbled nervously at the fabric of her skirt. The prince was nice enough to put the book back and then came closer to her and put the papers on the dresser. The only thing Chaima could think about was, _Now he cleaned up my mess_.

She took a quiet, deep breath, still standing with her back to the dresser with her eyes glued on the floor. By now, he stood so close next to her, their shoulders touching, and he was still busy with looking through her notes. "There's a mistake," he pointed out, finally making her wake up from her tense state. First she looked at him while he kept staring at the papers, then she followed his fingers down to a specific word he was pointing at. Turning around, she looked over it, finding nothing wrong. "It would be… this," Kouen said while drawing a character onto the paper with his fingers.

"I don't know that one yet…" Chaima mumbled, only realizing what she had said once it had left her. She bit her lip in shame, hanging her head low, all while he observed her. Slightly turning towards the maid, he picked up her right arm, pushing all her fingers out of the way except for her pointer and began running it over the rough paper. He did it once, twice, and a third time. Then he stopped, taking away his hands while she remained the same. She had watched his doings in a mix of horror and curiosity, and when he prompted her with a small, "Do it yourself," she did what he had showed her. And she did it for a few seconds until her brain got used to it. She didn't know the meaning yet, but she was sure to look it up later.

"Now you know it," Kouen stated simply, and Chaima - a little flustered about her actually getting so invested in the act - pulled back her hand and nodded. "Thank you, Your Highness..." she replied, a light blush on her cheeks. He sighed for a short amount of time. It had her wondering why, but she felt too shy to ask if he was okay. "So you didn't learn writing as a child?" he asked, making her return into a flustered state, before she replied, "No…" Some wrinkles appeared on his forehead and he inspected her for a few seconds. "You are not from Kou?"

Now it was her time to be confused. Eyeing the small mirror on top of her drawer from the sides of her eyes, she saw her reflections. How could he think someone of her complexion would come from Kou? "No, I'm from Balbadd, Sir," she replied, finding some pride in these words. He turned around towards her fully, crossing his arms in front of her chest. "Where exactly?" Somehow the way he stood didn't look so menacing anymore, as it did the first few times. Still, Chaima took a step back, making it easier for her to look up as they conversed.

"Tanhae, next to the upper harbor of the country." He confirmed that he knew about the place she spoke of by nodding at her words. However, the wrinkles still held firm onto his forehead. "You came quite some distance. What made you do that?" That was the moment her stomach started to tighten. Never had she spoken with anyone about this before and thinking about it made her anxious. How would he react? Would he even care about something as low as her backstory?

She kept silent for a while, prompting him to sigh again. It frustrated her too, knowing she couldn't just speak up for the sake of herself, and it hurt seeing him dismiss her from it. Chaima's voice was very quiet and brittle when she finally talked, "There's more money to earn in Kou…" It was more like a whisper and her posture ducked away from him as she spoke. Head trying to hide between her shoulders and hands clutched in her lap, she looked like a mouse, frozen in place at the mercy of her predator.

"There wasn't much left in my hometown and I support my family with all I have. They figured it was better to send me elsewhere than to work there," she explained, peeking through her eyelashes up to him. He was indeed staring at her intently but it seemed like he was interested in her words. "How long have you been here?" he continued to question. "Almost six years now, Sir." Chaima heard him hum in response. "When will you go back?" Kouen asked. It struck her as an odd question, but it made sense for someone so politically involved as he was to ask it.

"I'm not sure yet, Your Highness. I… we need the money," Chaima stuttered, nervously wringing her thumbs around each other. She took a deep breath. Yes, it was a sensitive topic, but who could she better direct her words at than a person of his status? "My siblings, I have two, they are starting school this summer." She made a short pause, looking at the papers nervously. But then her expression softened as she added, "They'll be the first in our family to do so."

She stepped closer to the drawer, pulling out the third from the top and revealing many neatly bound letter packs. They were tidily positioned, allowing every space to be used. A few still laid loosely in the drawer since they weren't enough to bind them together yet. "My mother said it's all thanks to the money I sent them." She picked up the one that was on top of the others, unpacking it from the envelope and giving it to the prince.

While he looked a little perplex about the offer to read something so private, he took over the letter, his eyes scanning it carefully. When he was finished, he turned the paper once to make sure he didn't miss anything, before folding it and giving it back to her. "I see," he mumbled. The letter had spoken about how Chaima's parents bought the school uniforms for the twins and did a medical check-up. It was not like she expected him to praise her for what she'd done, but for a moment, Chaima wanted to share her pride and joy with him. There was nothing more important than family to her.

"And yet," he started, giving the room another look over before continuing, "are you okay with this?" His hand made a vague gesture through the room. "Do not get me wrong. I am well aware there are worse conditions for some servants," he added. The tone of his voice changed as he said that, it was as if he had told a statistical fact and there was no such thing as empathy in it. "However, to live here for more than a short period of time seems unpleasant."

Chaima let out her breath, following his hand and looking over her room intently. "Your Highness, forgive me for saying this, but I do not know much about you." She felt how his body tensed at her words since he stood next to her. Chaima didn't care - no, she couldn't care less in that moment. "Do you have siblings, Your Highness?" she asked, smiling wryly at him. There was no spark of happiness in her eyes. Instead they were pleading with him to just go along with what she wanted to say.

"I do. I have a lot of younger siblings," he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest again. He seemed defensive and his words had a somewhat taunting ring to them, but Chaima didn't mind. At that point she couldn't resent him for how he was anymore. Their relationship might not have been close, but for the moment they were merely seeing eye to eye with each other. "Then you must understand that, no matter how hard or unpleasant something is, as the oldest you will do anything to support your family. Tell me if I am wrong, but don't you feel the same, Your Highness?"

The staring contest that followed was merciless. Chaima figured at some point it was time to give up, as she watched his face contort after confronting him with this. It signified things like 'Don't talk like you know me' and 'You're right but I do not appreciate it'. _If you look at him long enough, he's not that hard to figure out,_ she thought. Nevertheless, she felt like she had found a weak spot, and biting her lower lip, she was only seconds away from apologizing.

Much to her surprise however, he was the first one to advert his eyes. Or well, he closed them, thinking for a second about what to say. "You're right. I would go to great lengths for them." His confession caught her off-guard and she felt the control over her mouth slip away, making her jaw drop in surprise. Victory swelled in her chest and she couldn't help but smile at him. There was some newfound respect for the prince in her, as she had never expected him to admit something like this.

Turning away from him again and looking back into the room once more she said, "And that's why this isn't so bad at all." Chaima drove her hand over the footboard of the bed, starting to list, "There's a bed," pointing at the dresser, she added, "something to put my belongings in, and a window even." She smiled at him sweetly, feeling very pumped after having brought her point along successfully. "I never had such a nice room before, not even at home."

Kouen gave her a quick nod. He looked somewhat defeated but he did uphold his dignity at all times. Maybe that's what royalty really was: losing, but with grace. Though - and Chaima thought it was a little childish of him - it's not like they had been in a war. In the end, she wondered if agreeing with her really was something he was so against doing. Was it because in the end she was just a servant? Or was there something more behind it that she didn't know about?

To her, the man was like one of those books she used to study. Filled with questions and riddles that seemed too complex to her but were probably easier than she thought. And yet, just like those books, he really did spark her curiosity. Even with the few words they had shared, she felt there was so much more she wanted to tell him. And she also wanted to hear more about him too. Maybe it was just his voice Chaima wanted to continue ringing in her head, but she noticed how she hung onto every word that left his lips whenever he opened them.

"If you are putting it like this, it sounds as if they are taking really good care of their servants," he noted. The prince had found a more leisurely position, leaning against the dresser while facing her, standing on the opposite direction of him. "Well…" Chaima gulped. She knew better than to spoil the comfortable atmosphere they had, by complaining about her employers. So she simply said, "They take better care of us than the ones I was at before. And they… give us work… Oh! And they pay good."

She heard an surprisingly amused snicker from him as he stated, "You did good to memorise that." She let out a nervous laugh. _He got me,_ Chaima thought, not replying to him. Less than a minute passed, and the two of them stood around in the small room in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable atmosphere, but certainly it would have been better if they had talked to each other.

"What does Your Highness-" As soon as she started to speak up, Chaima heard an all too familiar sound. Footsteps that quickly came up the stairs and dared to expose the prince's presence. Out of reflex, Chaima jumped over to the door, shutting it right before she heard how the steps passed her room. They seemed to have gotten a little slower around the area of her door, maybe having noticed that someone closed it the moment they approached. Hearing the room next to her's rattling, Chaima could figure out it had been Nysete who had come back to her own room.

Chaima felt her face paling and a cold shudder run through her as she realized she should have never entertained the prince in her room for so long. Now she was at risk of being exposed, and if she had interpreted the reactions of her co-workers correctly before, this would bring her into a dire situation. Turning towards her visitor again, while leaning against the door to keep it shut, she whispered, "We have to leave." Kouen had stood up tall again, taking a deep breath at her insecurity showing.

There was a somewhat annoyed expression resting on his face, as he agreed, "Very well." Chaima didn't dare to waste any more time. She opened the door and peeked through the gap carefully, making sure no one could see the two as they slipped out and made their way down. Luckily, Nysete had been the only one coming back from her duty and Chaima could lead the prince away easily.

It had surprised her how obedient he acted, following her every step. The moment they reached the sliding door out to the main hallway, she made sure no one was there to see them too. The tension leaving her body as she let out a deep sigh, she stepped aside, letting the prince go out first. Chaima wouldn't let this be taken from her, to escort him the five steps to the door of his room, and fulfill her 'mission'.

The two of them stood in front of it for a few moments in silence. She finally bowed politely, giving the prince a weak smile. "It was a pleasure, Your Highness. Please excuse my frantic behavior throughout the time we spent together." Her voice was slightly more quiet than it had been before, as she still feared that anyone could be listening in on them, but he seemed to understand her. Giving her one, firm nod, he opened the sliding door to his room, turning towards her once more before entering.

"I'll expect you to guide me back to my room this evening after dinner, Chaima." Her expression faltered under the sudden command. She was surprised about his words as well as him still remembering her name. Flabbergasted, she nodded, mumbling "Okay?" Their eyes met for another moment. Chaima wondered when his piercing red had turned into quite such a shimmering color, and for a moment his expression seemed much softer again.

"After excusing so much from you, you need to pay me the respect I'm due," he said. There was seriousness only in his choice of words, but his voice sounded as if he was joking with her, friendly even. Chaima couldn't help a small grin escaping her, before she immediately bit her lip, realizing that's not how she was supposed to act. Sadly her mind didn't react fast enough to forbid her from speaking the words that slipped her lips next.

"Well, if the prince says so," she replied in a just as jokingly manner. The silence returned and she flushed bright red, noticing that he seemed surprised about that comeback. Bowing deep, she backed away, stuttering, "I'll be with you later then! Goodbye!" Before he could get back to that, she had gotten into the servant hallway again, slamming the door shut a little bit too forceful.

Kouen stayed behind, covering his mouth with his hand as he noticed the smile crossing his lips. "Brother?" he heard from behind. "There you are! We were searching for you, the meeting is already over-" His sister, the princess, approached him steadily, her voice coming to a halt as she noticed his expression. "D-did something happen?" He shook his head slowly, the smile not fading from his lips at any point in time. "Nothing," he replied, stepping into his room and closing the door behind himself.

Once she had recovered from the first shock of how she had ruined their conversation, Chaima groaned inwardly. Everything had gone so well, just why had she said something so stupid again? She pushed herself off the door she was leaning against and walked down the hallway to the outdoor area again. Passing the laundry room, security chambers and kitchen, it seemed like an eternity since she had last been there in the morning.

The air was still refreshing, though slightly colder, as she stepped down the stairs and into the grass. Like before, the white sheets were swaying peacefully in the wind and as she approached them, she remembered how the two had bumped into each other. Red flushed her cheeks, as the warmth rose in her body, and she began to take down the sheets, trying to keep herself composed.

 _What a weird man_ , she thought. Folding the sheets neatly, her mind drifting off to the image of him in her head. She didn't notice how her heart skipped some beats as she thought about him. And Chaima didn't give the euphoric feeling in her stomach any mind as she thought about meeting him later that day again. After all, even though it was an unfamiliar feeling of a thousand butterflies fluttering excitedly through her, how would she have figured out its meaning when she never felt like this before?


	7. Chapter VII

By the time she had taken the sheets off from the clothesline, folded them and put them back into the storage, the sun had already set. Somehow - even though the chaos from being with the prince still lingered in her bones - Chaima found her smile from the very same morning again, happily humming a tune whilst working. She did have to hurry after her encounter with the noble, their conversation robbing her of precious work time, but she had finished just in time for dinner.

When she arrived, the kitchen was still bustling. The cooks were busy cleaning after having sent the food for dinner and there were dishes spread over the table for all the servants to take their share from. Chaima feared Vian's wrath if she was to disturb him now, busy as he was, so she swiftly grabbed a plate for herself and began to pick out what she liked before sitting down at the table.

There was only Hama and Alinar and the two butlers at the table, who Chaima greeted briefly. She stretched out her legs and circled her feet for a few seconds, the exhaustion of the day hitting her as she sat down. "Good work today, Chaima," Hama said in her old-lady voice. The maid nodded thankfully at her, focusing back on her food right away. After all, she was expected by someone very special after her own dinner. "Did something happen yesterday after you were asked for?" Hama continued.

Truthfully, Chaima was not in the mood to talk about this again. It had ruined her appetite this morning and she felt awfully hungry now. She also didn't feel comfortable bringing it up again, but Chaima feared that ignoring the question was not a solution. The feeling she had fretted over before came back, bad thoughts poking her mind and making her good mood leave again. A sigh escaped her lips before she smiled wryly at the head-maid.

"No, nothing happened. I showed him his room, helped him with finding everything he needed, and excused myself. That is all." Chaima wasn't a good liar, but since she just skipped the part of the confrontation, her words sounded confident enough to persuade. Then again, Hama wasn't easily fooled and she stared at her underling for a bit. It was an awful moment, the tension threatening to spill between them. But at the moment Chaima feared that her expression might give away the true circumstances, Hama laughed slowly, taking a sip of her tea.

"Be careful, Chaima. Not that the prince will take you away from us."

Chaima only laughed in return, sounding fake but she was spared any more questions. She remembered the words that he had said to her before. About how her life wasn't ideal even though she always thought it was. Yes, she had shut him down then by bringing up her family, but deep inside she knew he was right. Of course, Chaima didn't dare to get her hopes high about him, maybe really taking her with him and letting her work at the palace under better conditions. But if he had asked her, she wondered about how she would have reacted.

Leaving seemed awfully scary to her. Right now she had nice co-workers, people that looked out for her, a good income, and shelter. Even if he promised better, how would she know it was real? Leaving this mansion for the promise of a better life was unimaginable for her. But much to her surprise, she found herself believing in his words nevertheless. Chaima hadn't noticed before, but when he spoke these words, for once he did seem concerned about her.

Digging her fork into one of the dishes, she realized how full her stomach felt. Maybe from the food, maybe from the mood weighing down onto her. Biting her lower lip, she had an overwhelming feeling washing over her. There was nothing particular setting it off, but she felt like she was working too hard, trying to do too many things at once and it overwhelmed her. Plus the whole incident with the prince who simply did what he wanted, and didn't listen to her at any point. _What a frustrating feeling,_ she thought, but there was nothing she could do about it.

The people around her jumped a little and looked up to her when Chaima suddenly got up, hitting her leg on the table. She grimaced in pain for a moment before picking up her plate and clearing it from the left-overs before rinsing it off. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to care about them staring. Without hesitation, she left the kitchen after finishing the cleaning task, and closing the door behind her, sighed.

Even through the dim light she made her way down the hallway by the staircase and onward to the little preparation room of the saloon. Contrary to last time, neither the saloon nor the preparation room were lit by candles as there was no one using them anyway. Chaima couldn't know what time it was, but as far as she could make out the sun hiding behind the forest that surrounded the mansion, it seemed to be getting pretty late. Since she had seen that the dinner was already finished, Chaima figured it was time for her to meet with the prince.

Chaima knew where everything was placed in the small room, and went directly for a box of matches on one of the shelves. Striking the match, the little flame lit up the surrounding area. With haste, she picked up a log and placed it into the fireplace, throwing the match after it. She turned to get some old paper that was collected for the reason of helping to ignite the wood. Placing the paper between fire and log, a small spike of pain rushed through her hand when she held it too close to the red element.

For a while she remained in her crouched position, watching how firstly the paper and then the wood started to burn away. "It's like him…" she muttered quietly to herself. Flinching, she realized what she had just said. Even though she knew nobody was around, she looked left and right in panic, sighing when her mind finally confirmed her loneliness. Staring back into the warming blaze before her, Chaima held out her hands for a moment, feeling rather cold all of a sudden.

If the prince was like the flames then certainly, she was like that log. The red was so piercing and menacing, but it was warm and held itself majestically as it spread everywhere. She on the other hand, was nothing special. Just a boring, old piece of wood, with nothing beautiful or special about it. The only thing she knew for sure was that the thoughts of him spread throughout her mind and ate themselves into her conscious, just like the fire did with the timber.

Blushing lightly, Chaima felt a little off-put by her own thoughts. They were certainly new to her, even if they held some refreshing views. Then again, she quickly reminded herself of how the reality was and that 'Sitting around and watching fire burn' was not what she was supposed to be doing.

She got up quickly and filled a tea kettle with water. It had been previously prepared by her, and set aside, so it was really just the matter of boiling it. Chaima was careful as she hung it over the fireplace, trying to go fast, as to not burn her hands again. While she stepped to one of the wall cupboards, she could hear how the fluid started to bubble inside the iron kettle. It took her a while to decide which cups to use.

They had a huge variety, ranging from fine, thin porcelain ones to thicker cups, which admittedly didn't have the delicateness, but were prefered by Chaima herself. She was well aware that she should pick the nice ones if she was going to have tea with the prince, but in the end, her hands reached for her favorites and she placed two of them onto a tray. After that came the choice of tea, and Chaima felt as indecisive as ever.

She was torn between a fruity and mild flavor, or something a little more leafy, which kind of tasted like dirt when it got colder. Apparently it was a delicacy from a city in the mountains, but Chaima couldn't bring herself to like it. Nevertheless, she took a spoon of each and put it into the bubbling kettle hanging in the fireplace. Immediately the cut leaves dunked into the water before dancing around in it with the bubbles.

Preparing some sugar as well as a coaster for the kettle, Chaima waited for the whistling to start. She took one of the clothes that were drying from previous use over the sink, folding it neatly and using it to take out the kettle from the fireplace. She was sure that there was a stick with a hook to do it normally, but she didn't like to use it, knowing that the weight would probably make her lose her hold on the kettle.

Placing it onto the tray, she could hear how the whistling slowly disappeared and all that was left was the fire, still glowing in the dark. By now it was very hard to see, and had she not known where the stick was, she wouldn't have found it. Poking it into the ashes and remains of the log, she made sure to spread them, so they could go out slowly. While she was planning to leave them like this, Chaima didn't want to burn down the whole house just because she was careless.

Once she was satisfied with the fireplace, she took the few steps back to the tray, loading it carefully onto her left arm. She took a moment to balance it out before moving over to the door and leaving the preparation room through the saloon. The farther she stepped into it, the darker it became, but luckily she knew where the chairs were positioned and she could see the light shine through the gaps around the doors leading to the entrance area.

A sudden hesitation hit her as she reached for the handle on the door. _What if he's not there yet?_ she thought. Now everything was prepared and Chaima realized that her actions may have been too fast again. Carefully, she pushed down the handle, opening the door just a tiny bit to peek through. Searching the area she looked left and right, her eyes searching for the slightest hint of red.

All the more she felt her heart jump at the sight of him sitting in one of the chairs. What she didn't expected was his eyes looking back, and then he shook his head. It was a competitive gesture, saying, "Come on. What are you waiting for?" And so she took a step back and opened the door wide enough for her and the tray to fit through. Chaima curtsied quickly, but unlike before there was a smile on her face as she approached him.

Kouen too got himself in movement, standing up from his chair. When she arrived at his side he bent forward slightly to peer into the cups, turning his head with a questioning expression in her direction when he found them to be empty. "I made tea…" Chaima mumbled, slightly embarrassed now by her actions. Maybe he found it to be inappropriate that she had prepared something for the two of them. _Maybe he really just wants me to guide him back and that's all_ , she realized in her mind.

"O-Of course, only if Your Highness wants to…" she stuttered, her words growing louder before ending as she gulped down a nervous realization stuck in her throat. "Only if Your Highness wants to have tea with me…" Finishing the sentence, Chaima didn't dare to look up at him. From the warmth spreading through her cheeks, she could only guess what kind of impression she was making.

Under his eyes still watching her, Chaima ducked away lightly, trying to maintain her smile and shyly looking up at him through her eyelashes. He abruptly straightened his back, giving her a quick nod before telling her, "You are well-prepared." Breathing out a sigh in relief, Chaima too, returned to a proper position and smiled. It did feel kind of good to hear him say these words. "Very well then," he mused, gesturing his hand into the direction of the same door they had used to get to the hallway and to his room the day before.

Chaima made the first steps towards it, making sure that she'd lead him through it like the day before. However, she found herself struggling with the sliding door, realizing it wasn't easy to balance a tray with a heavy kettle on it while doing the movement to open it. Unexpectedly, the prince came to her rescue. From behind he reached forward, her shoulder brushing against his chest for a mere second as he pushed it out of the way.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Chaima chirped, stepping aside to let him pass through it. It had made her a little embarrassed to feel him so close to her, but she tried to stand above it. After all, he had just opened the door. "Is it heavy?" he asked, pointing at the tray in her hand. She didn't expect this kind of attentiveness from him, but she shook her head just as fast. Normally Chaima wasn't so bad carrying a tray, but on this particular night she found herself a little out of it.

He proceeded through the entryway after watching her for a bit, deciding she must be speaking the truth. Chaima followed close behind him and, when he was not looking, used her foot to close the door behind her. She was glad he didn't see her misbehaving, but she simply wasn't going to struggle again after having told him she can handle it. However, at the sound of the sliding door shutting, the prince turned in caution, but Chaima only smiled at him and passed by without a word.

The two of them made their way to his chambers in the same quiet manner like the day before. Though something changed. While she had to guess his presence behind her the first time, he was clearly closer now. In fact, close enough to walk next to her, which was actually a very unusual mannerism considering their positions. Out of respect, Chaima tried to slow down, falling behind him, but the prince wouldn't have it. She wasn't sure if he did it unconsciously, but he also lowered his walking speed, much to her surprise.

Luckily though, it wasn't that long of a walk until they reached his door. Chaima did try to open the door for him again, but her hand met with his as he pushed it away. It wasn't forceful, rather gentle even, but determined to not let her do it. She could have pouted but a fluttering feeling started in her stomach when she felt his skin against hers. Kouen opened the door and - again with a wide gesture of his hand - signaled her to move ahead.

Half bowing, half walking, she trotted in. The room was already lit like the day before, but she found it to be in more of an used state. There were some scrolls on the table, the bed was made but had some wrinkles in the sheets. Overall it didn't seem messy. The boxes were closed and the doors to the garden must have been opened as the air inside the room was pleasant to breath in.

Chaima went over to the table, careful not to get any tea onto the scrolls that were piled on the left side of it as she put down the tray. There was a small pain in the arm that had held the tray for so long, but she shook it only for a split second so the pain could pass, noticing the prince's eyes still on her.

A little flustered that he 'caught' her after she denied how heavy it really was, Chaima proceeded to pick up the kettle and pour the tea, one cup for the prince, and one for her. She was absorbed her task, only hearing how the prince moved behind her and dragged the chair over the floor again as well as the shuffling of his coat when he took it off. The fabric got thrown over the railing around his bed like the day before, blowing some wind into her direction, as she continued to pour the liquid.

The prince grabbed his own shoulder, rolling it for a moment and then his head and neck in a circle. Chaima picked up his cup with both hands, hoping the tea would be good after she mixed two different kinds into it. Patiently, she waited for him to finish his little stretches and to have a seat on his bed. Smiling softly, she handed the cup over to him when he reached out for it, his response being a low grunt.

Biting her lip, she watched him take a sip of it, waiting for his reaction. There was not much to be expected, but when he took the cup away from his lips, Chaima could hear him sigh quietly, which she took as a good sign. Breathing out too, she wanted to go back to the table, but came to a halt next to the cape instead. The maid couldn't help but eye it from the side. Chaima wasn't sure if what she was going to do might be impolite but she really couldn't help herself.

Before she knew it, she had picked up the black fabric, raising it into the air. She had underestimated the heaviness of the ornament that was fixed to it as she struggled to keep it up for a moment. It was really heavy. Even more than she had expected the day before. Only then she noticed just how long the cape was. Even with her arms stretched towards the ceiling, it still collected on the floor and wrinkled under her lifting it.

She quickly placed it over her arm and picked it up on a lower point with her other arm, so she could transport it safely. The last thing she wanted was to be sued for ruining such an amazing piece of fabric. The prince followed her moves intently and she pursed her lips when she noticed, still kind of unsure if it was okay what she was doing or not. But he just took another sip of tea, not responding verbally to her doings. Again, she thought this to be a good sign.

With the cape over her arms, she walked over to the door, stepping slightly to the side of it. She had seen a hook there before and she was fairly sure that hanging the coat was a better idea than throwing it around carelessly. To be fair, the hook was quite high, and even though Chaima was pretty tall, she wasn't _that_ tall. For a moment or so, she had to fumble her way through the fabric to put it up, but once it sat on the hook, it fell nicely and she was able to free herself.

She took a step back, putting her hands onto her hips as she looked at what she had done, very pleased with herself. A light chuckle sounding through the room caught her off-guard as she swung around. "Isn't that better?" she asked him, surprised as she was about that unlikely reaction from a person as stoic as him. "For someone with such a messy room you sure like to keep things in order," he replied, grinning against the cup on his lips.

Chaima gasped, both in a playful manner as well as embarrassment that he'd use that against her. She let out a desperate grunt before replying, "Please don't tease me about it, Your Highness." He let out two hums, sipping on his tea and smiling lightly at their conversation. His eyes were closed, either in thoughtfulness or relaxation, maybe both. But he opened them just then, stretching out his arm and pointing at the chair in front of him with an open hand.

"Actually Chaima, there is something I want to talk about with you." Chaima swallowed hard. Suddenly a few questions arose in her again, similar to the feelings and thoughts she had the day before. However, there was no requesting tone of voice when he added, "Sit."


End file.
